Golfers typically carry a set of the various clubs required to play the game in a bag into which the club handles are inserted after inverting the club to cause the heads to extend out of the open end of the bag. When the bags are carried from place to place, the heads are repeatedly struck and battered. This also occurs when clubs are removed and inserted into the bag. "Sock" types of golf club covers have been constructed particularly for protecting the woods. These socks generally have an elastic neck on them to hold them in place over the wood when it is in the bag. They are readily and easily removed from the woods. In some cases, a draw string type of fastener is employed to secure the cover over the head and to prevent it from being accidentally dislodged.
It is much more difficult to provide a cover which is quickly installed and quickly removed from the heads of irons and putters. A protective cover for putters, in particular, is desirable since these are the shortest clubs in the bag and are repeatedly struck and battered. In addition, some golf putters have heads made of brass or other readily scratched or dented and scuffed material, so that protection is highly desirable.
Due to the shape of irons and putters, however, it has been difficult to provide a cover which could be quickly and conveniently held in place and readily removed. For example, irons have a front or toe portion which is relatively larger than the rear or heel portion, and are connected to the shaft at the heel portion end. Consequently, if an access opening is sized large enough to receive the toe portion of the club, the cover fits so loosely about the shaft of the club, that the cover frequently is inadvertently removed from the head of the iron or putter in which it is used.
The Banas U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,167 is directed to a golf club head cover particularly directed to a cover for putters. The cover disclosed in this patent is an elongated sleeve with an opening intermediate the ends. It is made with sufficient elasticity that it may be stretched longitudinally. To place the cover of the Banas Patent on a putter head, the toe of the head first is inserted through the opening. The device is stretched backward until the heel of the putter is inserted, and then the cover is released. The elastic material draws the cover toward the shaft from both ends to cause it to be held in place on the putter head. To remove the cover, the process is reversed. While this cover is relatively secure and is not readily dislodged, the procedure for placing it on a putter head and for removing it from the putter head requires some time and effort. In time, the elastic fails, and the cover must be replaced.
The Ashlin U.S. Pat. No. 3,426,815 is directed to a golf club cover designed particularly for "irons". This cover is fully enclosed on three sides to slip over the golf club head, with the toe of the head extending into the cover enclosure. The back or heel side has hook and loop mating fasteners on each side of it, and these fasteners are squeezed together over the heel of the club head to cause the cover to fit tightly over the head of the club. Nothing, however, extends over the shaft. As a consequence, the cover may be fairly easily dislodged.
The Spears U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,769 is directed to a cover which folds over the golf club head and then is attached to the shaft. The cover is open on the bottom or end facing the shaft of the club. It is fastened to the shaft by wrapping a portion around the shaft and snapping it into place. Similar covers have been marketed which have a hook and loop strap to wrap around the shaft and/or an extension of cover material to hold the cover in place.
Other putter covers have been marketed which are of a generally "L-shaped" or sock-like configuration which have a releasable opening on the front side (facing the toe of the club head). These covers are relatively easy to place over a club head; but even if a fabric hook and loop fastener is used, it is relatively difficult to open the fastener to remove the club, particularly if a putter having an extended heel is used. Another disadvantage of this type of cover, is that blade putters or irons frequently slide out or the cover gets knocked off when it hits the bag divider or bag edge.
"L-shaped" covers which use elastic around the leg portion to hold the cover over the shaft of the club also have a disadvantage of permitting blade putters and irons to slide out relatively easy. Heel putters and large mallet putters are difficult to insert into and remove from such covers, since they must be manipulated first in one direction and then the other to slide them into the covers and to remove them from the covers.
It is desirable to provide a protective cover for golf clubs, particularly for irons and putters of all types, which provides the desired protection, which stays in place, which is easy to put on and to remove, and which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.